Federal lawyers met with community leaders and clergy and handed out instructions on how to file complaints against cops.

After a video showed a White Chicago police officer pumping 16 bullets into a Black teen, federal law enforcement officials launched a probe into the department and this week, informed residents how to submit complaints against law enforcement.

The Department of Justice began investigating Chicago’s police department after the video was released this month, showing Police Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting Laquan McDonald in October 2014.

Now, Fox 32 reports that lawyers with the DOJ’s civil rights division on Wednesday met with about 15 community leaders and clergy and handed out instructions on how to file complaints against the police department.

Rev. Michael Pfleger, the activist pastor of St. Sabina Church, said Thursday that he and about 15 others were given copies in a meeting held Wednesday with attorneys from the department’s civil rights division, and are spreading the word, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

“I want as many people as possible in Chicago to use it,” he said. “We need to make sure that they hear from everybody in the community, and the best way to do that is for people to tell their story . . . I’m encouraging as many people as possible.”

[…]

“The investigation is focused on CPD’s use of force, including racial, ethnic or other disparities in its use of force, and CPD’s accountability systems including how CPD conducts internal investigations, responds to citizen complaints and handles officer discipline,” the department’s notice read. Anyone with information can call (844) 401-3735 or email community.cpd@usdoj.gov.

We hope the material is instructional and helps residents get results when they file complaints about police brutality.